LEAD: OVERTIME: A Twentieth Century Sports Odyssey. By Peter Schwed. (Beaufort, $15.95.) Many young sports fans know the joy of settling onto a grandfatherly lap and listening to colorful tales from someone who professes to have seen Babe Ruth swing...

January 10, 1988, Sunday

December 14, 1987, Monday

LEAD: During three years as a marketing representative for I.B.M., Stu Jackson learned much about product presentation and consumer relations. Those lessons served him well last night in another, very different, capacity.

December 9, 1987, Wednesday

LEAD: So much for patience. Rick Pitino had finally had enough. The 35-year-old first-year coach of the Knicks, who has strived to maintain a positive spirit amid trying times, made that clear Sunday evening.

December 8, 1987, Tuesday

LEAD: A VERITABLE fortune is spent on scouting these days. Each season, coaches and scouts from National Basketball Association teams travel the country, evaluating college players and viewing hours of videotaped college games.

December 7, 1987, Monday

LEAD: Al Bianchi, the Knicks' general manager, confirmed today that he has held discussions with Dallas about a trade involving Bill Cartwright and Detlef Schrempf, the Mavericks' 6-foot-10-inch forward.